An interesting aspect of blogging is the community that emerges. In some cases, bloggers come to personally know each other as they share posts and comments. In other cases, it’s a looser community without those ties but still an emotional connection from having gotten to see the blogger’s life unfold. So it was with shock and great sadness that I learned of the tragic death of one of my favorite bloggers, Kathreen Ricketson.

Kathreen wrote a crafting blog, whipup.net to which I have referred in several of my talks about blogging. Hers was a great example of how a blog can be used and expanded upon as she added crafting guides for children. Her blog was a fabulous resource and an inspiration for many.

Although she was in Australia, her blog was popular around the world. Bloggers across the web have rallied and are writing tributes and raising funds for her children. It goes to show how powerful blogging can be in terms of connecting people.  I’m very sorry for the loss of Kathreen and her partner, Rob Shugg and I’m glad I got to know them at least virtually.